Burned
by Lollipop456
Summary: Mal is banished to the Isle of Lost and cannot remember why. When she discovers the reason; she is horrified. She has burned Ben's face, permanently scarring him. Now, Mal must deal with the consequences of her actions and earn back Ben's love and, more importantly, his trust. WARNING: Still not seen the entire film, so things may be off.
1. Chapter 1

Mal stared at the invitation in her hand. Her name and Ben's was printed in gold; no, not some cheap imitation; actual gold. It was detailed with fancy embroidery. If Mal had her way in any of the wedding planning, the invitations to the engagement party would have been vastly different and much more simple. The over-the-topness of this invite wasn't what was bothering her though; it was the fact that this was the last one and Mal could no longer avoid the situation: she needed to decide if her mother would be invited or not.

"Well, she's a lizard now, I'm sure she can't do that much damage." Mal muttered to herself.

Mal exhaled and stuffed the invitation into the envelope. As she lifted the pen to write her mother's name; she heard footsteps behind her.

"Hi, Mal." Ben's voice greeted.

Mal turned to face her fiancee and plastered on her best smile. "Hey."

Ben kissed Mal on the cheek and then leaned over her shoulder. "How are the invites coming?"

"Oh, great." Mal placed her elbow over her mother's unfinished name. "Couldn't be better."

Ben gently moved Mal's elbow out of the way and then looked down at the envelope. He smiled.

"Why were trying to hide this? What's so bad about inviting your mother to our engagement party?"

"Because she tried to take over Auradon last year. I don't think everybody is ready to forgive and forget around here."

Ben shrugged. "She's still a lizard, right? If she tries anything, we can just put her in a jar."

Mal gave a small chuckle, but started to frown seconds after. "It's a special day, Ben. I'm trying so hard to be good and, I know this sounds selfish and everything, but...What if everyone thinks I've decided to be evil again? What if they want us to call off the wedding? What if I'm sent back to the Isle? What-"

Mal was cut off when Ben kissed her. She returned the kiss and smiled.

"That's a whole lot of "what ifs" over a tiny invitation. Come on, Mal. She' still your mother, everyone will understand that." Ben assured.

Mal leaned back in her chair. "Did anyone tell you that you are way too optimistic?"

"I'll take that as a compliment. " Ben gave Mal a kiss on the cheek and then left her alone.

Mal sat up and sighed. "Okay, here goes nothing." She picked up her pen and finished writing her mother's name.

The engagement party was held that next weekend. There was over fifty people there, and Mal only knew a few of them by name, and only her friends from the Isle of Lost were considered close to her. As she and Ben stood with his parents, greeting the guests that came, Mal was constantly standing on her tiptoes to see if anyone was arriving with a cage carrying a certain tiny lizard.

"Hey." Ben laid a hand on Mal's shoulder. "She'll come, I'm sure of it."

"That's kind of what I'm afraid of." Mal whispered.

As the guests continued to mingle and finger foods started to be served; Lumiere, the servant to King Beast, came rushing out of the castle. He was sweating and frantically whispering something in French to the king.

"What?! Are you sure?!" King Beast nearly shouted.

Before Mal could ask what had happened; there was collective gasps and screams and whispers. She looked up, and there, standing at the entrance, with no tail or slimy skin to be seen was her mother, Maleficent.


	2. Chapter 2

Everyone watched in silent fear as Maleficent made her way across the garden and over to her daughter.

"Darling!" Maleficent cried out, throwing her arms around Mal.

The guests all looked to each other with arched eyebrows and quiet whispers. This certainly wasn't how they'd expected Maleficent to act.

"Oh, look at you. So grown up. A year can certainly do alot for the face and..." Maleficent's voice trailed off as her eyes lowered towards Mal's cleavage. Her head popped up again and she smiled. "Anyway, I was so glad that you had invited me, darling."

"Thanks, Mom." Mal said quietly.

Maleficent finally took notice of the crowd and shrugged her shoulders. "Do I have something on my face?"

"Mom, we weren't exactly expecting you to show up like this." Mal whispered.

"Like what?" Maleficent observed her body. "Oh, human, you mean? Funny thing happened on the way back to the Isle; that magic wore off. No magic, you know."

King Beast stepped between Maleficent and Mal. "Human or not; I won't have you hurt anyone here."

"Calm down, your Majesty. I didn't come to make trouble. I'm not exactly in a hurry to have a tail again. Besides, this is my only child's engagement party. I wouldn't want to see her sad on a day like this."

Queen Belle laid a hand on her husband's arm, and King Beast moved away from Maleficent. All the guests seemed to relax and went back to their mingling and dancing.

"Would you like something to eat?" Mal asked her mother after some awkward silence.

"Oh, I can't stay for long, dear. I just came by to give you this." Maleficent pulled a necklace from her cape.

Everyone was on edge again. More gasps and screams. Fairy Godmother emerged from the crowd and took the necklace from Maleficent.

"Have no fear, everyone. If there is any magic, then my wand shall find it." Fairy Godmother proclaimed.

Fairy Godmother ran her wand over the tear-dropped shaped emerald. Everyone waited for something to happen. For some sort of spell to be casted suddenly.

Fairy Godmother finally sighed in relief. "No magic here. It seems you really are behaving, Maleficent. Isn't it amazing what the love of a parent can do?"

Fairy Godmother handed the necklace back to Maleficent, who gave a stiff smile in return. Maleficent handed the necklace to Mal.

Mal couldn't help but smile. She had never gotten any sort of gift from her mother and this necklace was beautiful!

"Mom, it's wonderful. Thank you. I don't really know what to say." Mal fastened the necklace around her neck. "How does it look?"

"It looks like a dream." Maleficent pulled Mal into another hug. "It's a dream come true." She whispered in Mal's ear.

Maleficent left the party after giving Mal her gift. The rest of the party went on without a hitch and lasted until the sun started to set.

When the guests had left and the servants were cleaning up, Mal returned to her bedroom and stepped in front of her mirror; admiring her new gift. Ben soon joined her and kissed her on the cheek.

"It looks beautiful on you." Ben said.

"I just can't believe she did something so...nice."

"Maybe there's a little love for you after all."

Mal shrugged. "Maybe."

"I'm going to go say goodbye to Audrey and Jay. Wanna come?"

Mal was about to say yes; but then she heard something. A tiny, whispering voice in her head. It was muffled, practically; but she could just make out what it said.

"He never wanted to say goodbye to the other guests. Why is she so important?" The voice whispered.

Mal frowned. Why didn't he say goodbye to the other guests? Why did he want to say goodbye to Audrey? Did he still have feelings for her?

"She still means alot to you, doesn't she?" Mal suddenly found herself asking.

"She's still a friend, if that's what you mean. She seems really happy with Jay."

Mal suddenly couldn't hear the voice anymore. She finally managed to smile again.

"Yeah. She does. Can you just say goodbye for me? I'm kinda tired from the party." Mal said.

"Sure." Ben kissed Mal on the cheek and left the room.

Mal sat in front of her mirror and let her hair down. She noticed a picture of her and Ben on her vanity and suddenly the voice returned; louder than before. It actually sounded just like Mal.

"He'll leave you. You know that, right? One day, he'll wake up and see you beside him and then realize that you are still Maleficent's daughter. You could snap at any moment and kill him." The voice said.

"I wouldn't hurt him." Mal said.

"Oh, I know. I'm only telling you what he is thinking. He's afraid of you. This whole "I wuv you so much, Mally?" It's all out of fear. If not fear, then he probably pities you."

"Pities me?" Mal repeated.

"Of course. How terrible it must be to have a villain as a parent. You never got any love, any sympathy, any kindness. Why, just to show you a scrap of that is just part of being a heroes kid. He's so good, and he just loves a good charity project. Doesn't every royal?"

Mal put her hands over her ears. "Shut up."

"Poor Mal. Why don't you just listen to me? After all, I am your thoughts."

Mal removed her hands from her ears. "You're my thoughts?"

"Of course I am. You can only hear me now because of that necklace that mother gave you. I've always been in the back of your mind. All those doubts and fears."

"Thoughts are just thoughts."

"Are they? Or are they premonitions? You already know that this marriage won't last. He'll send you back to the Isle of the Lost. You and all your friends. This marriage is just a charity case."

"Charity case?" Mal repeated.

Suddenly, Mal's necklace began to glow. A green smoke emerged from it and dissappeared into Mal's eyes.

Ben came back into the room, smiling with a small skip in his step. His smile faded the moment that he saw Mal.

"Mal? What is it?" Ben asked.

Mal stood and faced Ben, her face cold and hard. "You seem kind of chipper suddenly. Have fun saying goodbye to Audrey?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I can't believe how stupid I've been. Of course, you still love her. You never stopped. You never loved me. " Mal began pacing.

"Mal, what are you saying? Of course, I love-"

Mal pointed an accusing finger at Ben. "Don't patronize me, Ben! I'm not going to be your charity case anymore!"

Ben was startled by this sudden change in Mal's attitude. She had been fine a moment ago.

"Mal, maybe we should just talk." Ben walked towards Mal but she took a step back.

"Don't touch me." She warned.

"I-I just wanted to hug you."

"Hug me goodbye, I suppose? Before you sent me back to the Isle? That's what you planned all along! Well, I'm not going back there! I'm not going to let you send me there!"

"Mal, I love-"

Suddenly, green flames emerged from Mal's hands. Before Ben had a chance to move, Mal threw a fireball directly at his face. Ben fell forward, yanking the necklace from Mal's neck. Mal fainted seconds later as Ben started to scream and writhe in pain. Audrey, Jay, Queen Belle, and King Beast all came running into Mal's room. While the king and queen tried to calm their son, Jay and Audrey tried to wake up Mal.

"Mom, Dad, it hurts!" Ben screamed.

Queen Belle shushed Ben. "It's all right, sweetheart. We'll get you some help."

"What happened here?" King Beast shouted.

"Your Majesty, Mal's fingers are singed. She's been using fire magic." Audrey said quickly.

"She did this to him?" Queen Belle asked.

"Jay, Audrey, stay with her and make sure she doesn't go anywhere. We'll deal with her later." King Beast ordered.

King Beast took his son into his arms and carried him out of the room, with Queen Belle following quickly behind. All Jay and Audrey could do was sit there in shock as they waited for Mal to wake up.


	3. Chapter 3

At the hospital, doctors and nurses worked feverently to stabilize Ben. Belle and Beast had been told to wait in a private room. While Belle read a book to occupy her mind, Beast did nothing but pace. And pace. And pace. Apparently, this habit from his days as a hairy creature had not stopped.

There was an agonizing scream down the hall. Belle flinched, but did not look up from her book; but Beast growled and shouted for someone. A plump nurse, with pursed lips and graying hair came to the room.

"Why is he screaming?" Beast asked.

"Don't fret, sir. They've got to cool his face so they can treat the burn." The nurse said.

"Can't they give him something for the pain?" Beast asked.

The nurse shook her head. "Not while he's this upset. It might do something to his blood pressure or his heart."

There was another scream. This time, Ben could be heard calling out for his parents. Belle dropped her book and was stopped by Beast as she attempted to run to her son's call.

"Your Majesties, please. I know you both well, and I know how much you love Benjamin-"

"Then let us see him. At least one of us needs to be there." Belle said.

"Please...Mrs. Potts...Please." Beast said quietly.

"I'll see what I can do, dears."

The nurse turned and left the room. Belle sighed and Beast closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"He'll be fine." Belle said, partially to herself.

"He had better be. Belle, you and Ben are what keeps me from even thinking like I used to. If I lost one of you."

Belle hugged her husband. Not even wanting him to finish his thought. Ben was their son, their only child. Their world would shatter without him.

"Dear, how will we tell him?" Belle asked.

"Tell him what?"

"Tell him that we banished Mal to the Isle of the Lost. He'll be devastated."

Beast released Belle. "I'm sure the wound will heal when we tell him who was responsible."

"If it doesn't? Beast...Adam...He may never forgive us."

Before Beast could assure his wife, a doctor came into the room. He was wearing a small smile, but the king and queen could see a certain sadness in his eyes.

"He's alright. His heart rate and blood pressure have gone down considerably, and we've been able to give him some pain medication to help him relax." The doctor explained.

"What aren't you telling us?" Belle asked.

The doctor sighed. "You do understand that there can be surgery in the future to fix this; but, for the time being. Mal's magic was strong, too strong for us to correct. I'm sorry to say that the burn on Ben's face is rather severe-"

Beast didn't let the doctor finish, he ran from the room and to the ward where Ben was kept. What he saw both shocked and angered him; half of Ben's face, was covered with a dark pink, covered with boils and flaking skin. Beast managed to calm himself and went to Ben's side. His son turned towards him, tears brimming at the corner of his eyes.

"Papa?"

Beast swallowed the lump in his throat. Ben sounded like a helpless child, who needed reassurance from an adult. Beast took Ben's hand and squeezed it.

"You don't worry, son. Papa has made everything right. I'll make sure that she never hurts you again." Beast said in a low and soothing tone.


	4. Chapter 4

Mal opened her eyes slowly. She gave a content sigh and stretched herself. No doubt, that was one of the best rests she had ever since the madness of wedding planning began. As she laid there, she began to feel uncomfortable. Her pillows were firmer than before, the bedspread was not satin but wool. This wasn't the bed she had in the castle, but there was a familiarity to it. A frightening familiarity.

Gasping, Mal sat up quickly as she realized just where she was. This was her old bed, this was her old room. She was back on the Isle of Lost. She was restrained by an arm around her shoulders. Mal was startled to find her mother sitting next to her on the bed.

"There are those malicious eyes of mine. How are you feeling, my little dragon?" Maleficent asked.

"I-I don't know how I feel. I don't even know why I'm back here. Mom, what happened?"

Maleficent shushed Mal. "All will be told in time. Oh, my dear, you have no idea how proud your Mummy is. Now, you just lay there and let me make you your favorite breakfast. You still do like pig heart stew don't you?"

Mal gave a confused smile and nodded. Maleficent patted the top of her head and left her alone to fetch her breakfast. Normally, Mal would welcome any sort of affection that her mother showed her; but she couldn't revel in it this time. Because something was different. Something was terribly wrong and Mal didn't know what. Clutching her necklace, Mal laid back down and tried to rest some more before her mother returned.

At the hospital, Ben was laying in bed as his mom fed him some soup. In truth, he could have fed himself but he knew this made his mom happy and besides with the way he felt and, more importantly, the way he looked, he was not in the mood to even try to feed himself.

Jay and Audrey came into the room, with Audrey carrying a huge bouquet of roses. Audrey gave an audible gasp when she saw the burn on Ben's face, but quickly collected herself and plastered on a smile.

"Hi, Benny. We heard it was okay for you to have visitors now. Evie, Doug, Jane, and Carlos couldn't come, but they said they'd be by later in the week."

"I don't really feel like seeing anybody else." Ben said quietly.

There was an awkward silence and the ticking of the clock. Audrey finally cleared her throat and laid the bouquet down on the nightstand.

"If this is a bad time, we can come back later." Jay suggested.

"This is a perfect time. The King and I were thinking of take a stroll in the garden. So, you two can stay as long as you like. We won't be long."

Belle kissed Ben's burnt cheek and then left the room. Beast kissed Ben on the forehead, but paused at the doorway and leaned close to Jay's ear.

"He doesn't know yet." Beast whispered.

Jay nodded in understanding and Beast left the room. Audrey pulled up a chair to Ben's bedside and took his hand.

"Ben, no matter what you look like, you still have friends and family that love you. We'll be there for you, and sooner or later you will meet someone else. Someone worthy of you." Audrey said.

"Someone else?" Ben repeated. "What's wrong with Mal?"

Audrey scoffed and folded her arms. "I'd like to think you wouldn't want to be with her after this."

"Why not? This isn't her fault."

Audrey clasped her hand over her mouth. She gave Jay a pleading look to help her out of this situation.

"Guys, what's going on?" Ben asked.

Jay sighed and looked up at Ben. "This isn't really our place, man. Maybe we should go find your Mom and Dad."

"No! You guys are keeping something from me and I want to know what it is. What happened to me? Why can't I see Mal?"

Audrey and Jay looked at each other. Audrey wiped away a stray tear and then took Ben's hand again.

"It was after the engagement party. We're not exactly sure what had happened, but me and Jay had heard you screaming. Your face was badly burned and Mal was passed out. We looked at her fingers and they were singed. Because the burn was so severe, we knew that she'd been using fire magic."

"Mal did this to me?" Ben asked quietly.

"It could've been an accident, dude." Jay said.

"No, I remember now. We were arguing, and she suddenly burned me. She was mad. I hadn't done anything to her, and this is what I get! I thought she loved me! I thought that she had changed! Now look at me! This is what I get for trying to help the likes of her!"

Ben knocked his tray off the bed. Tears ran down his face and his fists clenched until his knuckles turned white.

"Get out of here. " Ben nearly growled.

Audrey and Jay stood to leave and hurried for the door. Jay stopped and turned back to Ben.

"Don't you at least want to know what happened to Mal?" Jay asked.

Ben turned on his side. "I don't give a damn."


	5. Chapter 5

Ben returned to the castle a week later. The burn was no longer in danger of bleeding and Ben had gathered enough strength so that he could return to his kingly duties soon.

Lumiere and Beast helped Ben up the stairs and to his room. As Lumiere drew back the curtains, Beast helped Ben into bed.

"Everything's just as you left it, son. Home sweet home, right?" Beast said.

"Where's Lumiere?" Ben asked.

Beast looked up at Lumiere and frowned. The burn had done more than damage the skin, it had also left Ben completely blind in his left eye.

"I'm still here, your Majesty." Lumiere said, keeping his voice neutral.

"Close the curtains . There's a good chance there's a photographer hiding outside and..."

Ben closed his eyes and sank back against the pillows. There really wasn't any reason for him to finish his sentence.

Sighing, Lumiere closed the curtains and then left the room. Beast pulled the covers over Ben and then quietly snuck out of the room.

As Beast headed for the stairs, Belle met him in the hallway and laid her hands on his chest.

"He doesn't want the curtains opened. He doesn't want to risk someone photographing him." Beast said.

"Beast, I'm worried."

"So am I. This is exactly how I was. I wanted to shut myself off from the world, not see anyone or speak to anyone. Anger just kept building up inside me, and every time I looked in a mirror it made me sick. Then I met you."

Belle took Beast's hand. "He doesn't have a "me" anymore, darling."

"No. He has us though. We're his family after all, aren't we?"

"Yes, but it's different. Parents can only do so much. We can tell him how much we love him and spend time with him; but for someone, anyone, outside of this castle to accept him and love him just as he is and to be his queen no matter the circumstances."

"What are you saying?" Beast asked.

"Let's bring Mal back from the Isle. Let her see Ben and allow her to explain what had happened."

"We know what happened. She did what she always was meant to do." Beast started downstairs.

"I thought you would be one to look beyond what is seen on the surface." Belle said.

Beast paused for a moment and then continued down the stairs, leaving a defeated Belle alone.

Back on the Isle, Mal was washing dishes as Maleficent sat in front of the TV, flipping through the channels.

"Oh! This is excellent! What a thrill! Mal, my darling, come here and see this sight!" Maleficent squealed.

Mal rolled her eyes and went over to her mother. Cameras were surrounding a limousine as King Beast and Queen Belle were escorting a cloaked figure into the castle. The camera finally managed to get a brief peek under the cloak, and catch a glimpse at a scalded face.

Mal gasped. "That's Ben!"

"Isn't it? Oh, what an improvement I must say."

"He's been hurt. What happened to him?" Mal asked frantically.

"Why you did, dear. Why did you think I was so proud of you?"

Mal gave a sharp inhale and ran upstairs to her room. She panted and leaned against the door; all at once she remembered exactly what had happened. The fight with Ben, the anger that she felt, the flames shooting out. Screaming, Mal slid to the floor and began to cry.


	6. Chapter 6

When Mal calmed herself, she tried to think about what could have led her to use dark magic against Ben. She had been alone in the room for awhile, then Ben came back and they started to argue. Something about how she thought Ben didn't really love her and wanted to send her back to the Isle. That wasn't true of course, Ben loved her and everything about her. Didn't he? He wasn't pitying her, was he?

Mal's chest tightened at the thought and she clutched her necklace. Wait, had she been wearing that necklace during the argument? Of course she had! She was trying it on when Ben came into the room. She suddenly remembered the voices in her head and how they wouldn't stop. She just couldn't get them to stop saying such horrible things and the things that they made her say. That they made her do.

Ripping the necklace off, Mal stormed downstairs and threw the necklace at Maleficent who was rewatching the broadcast.

"This is all your fault!" Mal shouted.

"Excuse me?"

"You and that necklace. You put some sort of spell on it, and it made me do that!" Mal pointed to the TV, unable to look at Ben again.

Maleficent calmly stood and stroked Mal's cheek. "My precious, it made you do what you wanted to do. Oh, you were right, I did a bit of magic on that beautiful necklace. Only giving it a voice to your thoughts and turning those malicious thoughts into actions. It did read your mind and it did make you do what you did; but did it tell you all those horrible things? Did it give you that terrible desire to hurt your love? Not in the least. That was all you."

"No! I would never want to hurt Ben. I love him." Mal said firmly.

"Perhaps so; but did you ever think that one day it would happen. That you would one day do something like that?"

Tears welled in Mal's eyes as she looked up at the TV again and saw Ben's face. Yes, she did think she would snap one day. That she would become too angry and hurt him. Her mother was right: The necklace helped her to act out what she had to feared she would do. This was not her mother's fault, it was hers.

Back at the castle, Ben slept most of the day away; only waking for meals and for visits. He still refused to have the curtains opened and never faced the visitors who didn't know about the severity of his burn.

As night came, Belle sneaked into Ben's room and kissed his forehead as he slept. As she was about to leave, she noticed that something red and sticky was leaking between Ben's clutched fingers. Giving a quiet gasp, Belle carefully unclutched Ben's hand; what she found was no cut or bleeding scrape. No, it was only the remains of a strawberry.


End file.
